Lahiri
Mahasaya lived in the association of Vaisnavas in Sri Godruma for three or four
years, and thus his heart became fully pure. At all times he chanted hari-nama:
while eating, walking, and sitting; before sleeping; and after rising. He wore
simple clothes and did not even use shoes or sandals. He had relinquished his
pride in his caste so completely that as soon as he saw a Vaisnava, he would
offer him dandavat-pranama, and forcibly take the dust from his feet. He
would seek out pure Vaisnavas in order to honor the remnants of their meals.
His sons came to him from time to time, but when they understood his mood, they
departed quickly, not daring to propose that he should come home with them. To
look at Lahiri Mahasaya now, one would certainly take him to be a Vaisnava
Babaji.

From
the philosophy of the Vaisnavas of Sri Godruma, Lahiri Mahasaya had understood
that the essential principle is genuine detachment within the heart, and not
the adoption of the external dress of renunciation. In order to minimize his
needs, he followed the example of Sri Sanatana Gosvami and tore one piece of
cloth into four to use as his garments. Nonetheless, he still wore his sacred
thread around his neck. Whenever his sons wanted to give him some money, he
would reply, “I will not accept even a single kaudi from materialists.”
Candrasekhara, his eldest son, once brought him a hundred rupees for a festival
to feed the Vaisnavas,but Lahiri Mahasaya
remembered Sri Dasa Gosvami’s example, and did not accept the money.

One
day Paramahamsa Babaji said, “Lahiri Mahasaya, you are now free from all traces
of non-Vaisnava behavior. Even though we have accepted the vows of mendicancy,
we can still learn much from you about renunciation. You need only accept a
Vaisnava name for everything to be complete.”

Lahiri
Mahasaya replied, “You are my parama-guru. Please do as you see fit.”

Babaji
Mahasaya said, “Your residence is at Sri Santipura, so we will address you as
Sri Advaita dasa.”

Lahiri
Mahasaya fell in prostrated obeisance, and accepted the mercy of his new name.
From that day on, everyone called him Sri Advaita dasa, and they referred to
the kutira in which he resided and performed his bhajana as
Advaita-kutira.

Advaita
dasa had a childhood friend named Digambara Cattopadhyaya, who had earned vast
wealth and reputation by performing important services in the Muslim royal
administration.When Digambara
Cattopadhyaya attained seniority, he retired from his government post and
returned to his village of Ambika. There he heard that his childhood friend had
renounced his home and was now living in Godruma under the name, Sri Advaita
dasa, and was spending his time chanting hari-nama.Digambara Cattopadhyaya was a dogmatic
worshiper of the Goddess Durga, and he would block his ears with his hands if
he so much as heard the name of a Vaisnava. When he heard about the ‘downfall’
of his beloved friend, he said to his servant, “Vamana dasa, arrange for a boat
immediately, and I will go straight to Godruma.”

The
servant quickly hired a boat and reported back to his master.Digambara Cattopadhyaya was very astute. He
was a scholar of the tantra-sastras and was highly skilled in the ways
of Muslim civilization.His knowledge
of Farsi and Arabic forced even Muslimscholars
and teachers to admit defeat at his hands, and he would leave any brahmana scholar
dumbfounded by his expertise in arguing the tantra-sastra. He had
acquired a significant reputation in Delhi, Lucknow, and other cities, and in
his spare time, he had written a book called Tantra-sangraha, A
Compendium on the Tantra, in which he displayed his extensive learning
through his commentaries on the slokas.

Digambara
took his Tantra-sangraha with him and climbed into the boat in a fiery
mood. Within six hours they arrived at Sri Godruma, where Digambara instructed
an intelligent man to go to Sri Advaita dasa, while he himself remained in the
boat.Digambara’s messenger found Sri
Advaita dasa sitting in his kutira, chanting hari-nama, and he
offered pranama to him.“Who are
you, and why have you come?” inquired Advaita dasa.The man replied, “I have been sent by the venerable Digambara
Cattopadhyaya. He asks whether Kalidasa still remembers him, or whether he has
forgotten him.”

Sri
Advaita dasa asked rather eagerly, “Where is Digambara? He is my childhood
friend; how could I possibly forget him? Has he now adopted vaisnava-dharma?”

The
man said, “He is sitting in a boat at the riverside. I cannot say whether he is
a Vaisnava or not.”

Advaita
dasa said, “Why is he at the riverside? Why doesn’t he come to my kutira?”

When
the messenger heard these inviting words, he left to inform Digambara, who
arrived at Advaita-kutira within an hour, accompanied by a few other gentlemen.
Digambara had always been a generous man at heart, and now he became
overwhelmed with joy when he saw his old friend. He embraced Sri Advaita dasa
and sang a song that he had composed himself:

kali!
tomara lila-khela ke jane ma,
tribhuvane?

kabhu
purusa, kabhu nari, kabhu matta hao go rane

brahma
ha’ye srsti kare, srsti nasa ha’ye hara,

visnu
ha’ye visva-vyapi pala go ma, sarva-jane

krsna-rupe
vrndavane, vamsi bajao vane vane,

(abara)
gaura ha’ye navadvipe, matao sabe sankirtane

O Mother Kali, who in the three worlds can fathom your

pastimes? Sometimes you take the shape of a man,
sometimes

that of a woman, and sometimes you appear in battle

in a ferocious mood. As Lord Brahma you create the
universe,

as Lord Siva you destroy it, and as Lord Visnu you

pervade the universe and maintain all living entities.
As

Sri Krsna you appear in Vrndavana and wander from
forest

to forest playing the flute. Then again, you appear in

Navadvipa as Sri Gaura and intoxicate everyone with
the

chanting
sri-hari-nama.

Advaita
dasa offered Digambara Cattopadhyaya a seat made of leaves, saying, “Come in,
my brother! Come in! It has been such a long time since we last met.”

Digambara
sat on the seat, expressing his affection with tears as he said, “My brother
Kalidasa, where shall I go? Now you have become a renunciant, and you don’t
care for the devas or for your religious duties. I came from Punjab
filled with so much hope, but our boyhood friends have all gone. Pesa, Pagla,
Khenda, Girish, Ise Pagla, Dhanuva, Kele the carpenter and Kanti Bhattacarya
have all passed away. Now only you and I remain. I thought I could sometimes
cross the Ganga and meet you at Santipura, and you could sometimes cross the
Ganga and visit me in Ambika. We could have spent whatever time remains to us
singing together and studying the tantra-sastra. Alas! Fate has dealt me
a cruel blow. You have become a worthless heap of cow-dung – of no use in this
life or the next. Tell me, how has this happened to you?”

Advaita
dasa could see that his boyhood friend was most undesirable company, and he
began to devise a way of escaping from hisclutches.
Thinking like this, he said, “Brother Digambara, do you remember that day in
Ambika when we were playing gulli-danda, and we reached the old tamarind
tree?”

Digambara: Yes, yes, I remember very clearly. It was the tamarind
tree just next to Gauridasa Pandita’s house. Gaura-Nitai used to sit underneath
that tree.

Advaita: Brother, as we were playing, you said, “Don’t touch
this tamarind tree. Aunt Saci’s son used to sit here, and if we touch this
tree, we shall become renunciants.”

Digambara: Yes, I remember it well. I noticed that you had some
leaning toward the Vaisnavas, and I said, “You will fall into Gauranga’s trap.”

Advaita: Brother, that has been my nature. At that time, I was
only on the verge of falling into that trap, but now I have actually fallen in.

Digambara: Take my hand and come out. It is not good to remain in
a trap.

Advaita: Brother, I am very happy in this trap. I pray to
remain here forever. Just touch this trap once and see for yourself.

Digambara: I have seen everything. It seems like happiness in the
beginning, but in the end you will see that it is just deception.

Advaita: And what about the trap that you are in? Do you expect
to obtain great happiness in the end? Don’t delude yourself.

Digambara: Look, we are the attendants of the Goddess Mahavidya
(Durga). We enjoy happiness now, and we will also enjoy it in the hereafter.
You think that you are happy now, but I don’t see that you are happy at all.
Furthermore, there will be no limit to your suffering in the end. I cannot
understand why anyone becomes a Vaisnava. You see, we enjoy eating meat and
fish, we are well dressed, and we are more civilized than you Vaisnavas. We
enjoy all the happiness that material science affords, whereas you are deprived
of all these things, and ultimately you will not even gain deliverance.

Advaita: Brother, why do you claim that there will be no
deliverance for me in the end?

Digambara: No one – even Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu, or Lord Siva –
can ever obtain salvation if they are indifferent to Mother Nistarini. Mother
Nistarini, she who grants deliverance, is the primordial power. She manifests
Brahma, Visnu, and Mahesa, and after that she maintains them by her active
potency (karya-sakti).When that
Mother desires, everything re-enters her womb, which is the vessel that
contains the entire universe. Have you ever worshiped the Mother to invoke her
mercy?

Advaita: Is Mother Nistarini a conscious entity or inert
matter?

Digambara: She is consciousness personified, and she possesses independent
will. It is by her desire alone that spirit is created.

Advaita: What is purusa, and what is prakrti?

Digambara: Vaisnavas engage only in bhajana; they have no
knowledge of fundamental philosophical truths. Although purusa and prakrti
manifest as two phenomena, they are actually one, like the two halves of a
chick-pea. If you take the outer skin off the chickpea, there are two halves;
but if the outer skin remains, there is one chick-pea. Purusa is
conscious and prakrti is inert. When the conscious and the inert merge
into one undifferentiated substance, it is known as brahma.

Advaita: Is your mother prakrti, female, or purusa,
male?

Digambara: Sometimes she is female, and sometimes male.

Advaita: So, if purusa and prakrti are like the
two halves of a chickpea covered by a skin, which is the mother and which is
the father

Digambara: Are you making philosophical enquiries?
Excellent!We are well acquainted with
the truth. The fact is that the mother is prakrti, matter, and the
father is caitanya, consciousness.Advaita: And who are you?

Digambara: Pasa-baddho bhavej jivah pasu-muktah
sadasivah: “When

one is bound by the ropes
of maya, one is a jiva; and when one is released from those
bonds, one is Lord Sadasiva

Advaita: So are you spirit or matter?

Digambara: I am spirit, and Mother is matter. When I am bound,
she is Mother; when I become liberated, she will be my wife.

Advaita: Oh, splendid! Now the whole truth is exposed without
any doubt. The person who is your mother now will become your wife later. Where
did you get such a philosophy?Digambara:
Brother, I am not like you, simply wandering here and there saying,
“Vaisnava! Vaisnava!” I have acquired this knowledge by associating with
innumerable perfected and liberated sannyasis, brahmacaris and tantrikas,
and by studying the tantra-sastras day and night. If you wish, I can
also make you fit for understanding this knowledge.

Advaita
dasa thought to himself, “What a ghastly misfortune!” But aloud he said, “Very
well. Please explain one idea to me. What is civilization, and what is material
science (prakrtika-vijnana)?”

Digambara: Civilization means to speak courteously in a cultured
society, to dress oneself in a respectable and pleasing manner, and to eat and
to conduct oneself in a way that is not repugnant to others. You do none of
these things.

Advaita: Why do you say that?

Digambara: You are distinctly unsociable, for you do not mingle
with others. The Vaisnavas have never learned what it means to please others
with sweet words. As soon as they lay eyes on anyone, they command him to chant
hari-nama. Why, is there no other civilized discussion? Anyone who sees
your dress will not be inclined to let you sit in an assembly. You wear a
loincloth, a peculiar tuft of hair on the top of your head, and a garland of
beads around your neck. What kind of an outfit is this? And you eat only
potatoes and roots. You are not at all civilized.

Advaita
dasa determined that if he were to start a quarrel and Digambara went away
angered, it would be a great relief. So he said, “Does your type of civilized
living give you the opportunity to attain a higher destination in the next
life?”

Digambara: Culture does not in itself grant one a higher
destination in the next life, but how can society be elevated without culture?
If society is elevated, then one can endeavor for progress in other planets.

Advaita: Brother, I may say something, if you will not become
angry.

Digambara: You are my childhood friend; I would give up my life
for you. How can I not tolerate whatever you have to say? I am fond of
courtesy; even if I become angry, my words remain sweet. The more a man can
conceal his inner feelings, the more cultured he is considered to be.

Advaita: Human life is very short, and there are many
disturbances.In this brief span of
life, the only duty of humanity is to worship Sri Hari with simplicity.
Studying the ways of material civilization and culture is simply deceiving the
soul. I have understood that the word sabhyata (civilization) is simply
another name for civil deception. A human being remains simple as long as he
adheres to the path of truth. When he adopts the path of dishonesty, he desires
to appear civilized and to please others by sweet words, but internally he
remains addicted to deception and wicked deeds.What you describe as civilization has no good qualities, because
truthfulness and simplicity are really the only good qualities.

In
modern times, civilization has come to mean keeping one’s depravity concealed
within. The word sabhyata literally means fitness to participate in a sabha,
or a virtuous assembly. In reality, civilization that is free from sin and
deception is only found among Vaisnavas. Non-Vaisnavas very much appreciate
civilization that is saturated with sin. The civilization that you speak of is
not related to the nitya-dharma of the jiva.

If
civilization means to adorn oneself in stylish clothes to appeal to others,
then prostitutes are more civilized than you are.The only requirement for clothing is that it should cover the
body and be clean and free from unpleasant odor. Food is faultless when it is
pure and nutritious, but you only care whether it tastes good;you don’t even consider whether it is pure or not.
Wine and meat are naturally impure, and a civilization based upon the
consumption of such things is simply a society dedicated to sin. What passes as
civilization at present is the culture of Kali-yuga.

Digambara: Have you forgotten the civilization of the Muslim
emperors? Just consider the manners with which people sit in the court of a
Muslim emperor, how politely they speak, and with such proper etiquette.

Advaita: That is only worldly conduct. How deficient is a man,
really, if he does not abide by these external formalities? Brother, you have
served in the Muslim government for so long that you have become partial to
that type of civilization. In reality, human life only becomes civilized when
it is sinless. The so-called advancement of civilization in Kali-yuga simply
means an increase in sinful activity; this is nothing but hypocrisy.

Digambara: Look, educated modern men have concluded that
civilization means humanism, and that those who are not civilized are not human
beings. To dress women attractively and thereby conceal their faults is
considered to be a sign of sophistication.

Advaita: Just consider whether this idea is good or bad. I
perceive that those whom you call ‘educated’ are merely rogues who have taken
advantage of the times. Such people favor this deceitful civilization partly
because of sinful impressions within their hearts, and partly because they see
it as an opportunity to conceal their faults. Can a wise man find happiness in
such a civilization? Only vain arguments and physical intimidation can maintain
veneration for a civilization of rogues.

Digambara: Some people say that society is advancing with the
increase of knowledge in the world, and eventually it will be like heaven on
earth.

Advaita: That is simply fantasy. It is quite extraordinary that
people have faith in this, and it is even more bizarre that others have the
audacity to propagate such a view without actually believing itJ A I VA - D H A R M A CHAPTER 9 218 themselves.
There are two types of knowledge: paramarthika knowledge relates to
eternal truth, while laukika knowledge relates to this transitory world.
Paramarthika knowledge does not seem to be increasing; on the contrary,
in most cases knowledge has been corrupted and deviated from its original
nature. Only laukika knowledge seems to be on the increase. Does the jiva
have an eternal relationship with laukika knowledge? When laukika-jnana
increases, people’s minds become distracted by temporary material pursuits,
and they neglect the original spiritual truth. I firmly believe that the more laukika-jnana
increases, the more duplicitous a civilization becomes. This is a great
misfortune for the living beings.

Digambara: A misfortune? Why?

Advaita: As I said before, human life is very short. The jivas
are like travelers at an inn, and they should use this brief span of life
to prepare themselves for their ultimate destination. It would be sheer
foolishness if travelers staying in an inn were so caught up with improving the
conditions of their stay that they forgot their destination. The more one’s
involvement with material knowledge increases, the more one’s time for
spiritual matters dwindles.I am
convinced that material knowledge should be used only as much as it is needed
to maintain one’s livelihood. There is no necessity for excessive material
knowledge and its companion, material civilization. For how many days will this
earthly glitter remain?

Digambara: I see that I have fallen into the clutches of an
unyielding renunciant. Then does society serve no function?

Advaita: That depends upon the composition of a particular society.The function served by a society of
Vaisnavas is highly beneficial for the jivas, but a society of
non-Vaisnavas, or a society that is merely secular, serves no advantageous
function for the jivas. But enough of this topic. Tell me, What do you mean
by material science?

Digambara: The tantra-sastra has delineated many types of
material science (prakrtika-vijnana). Material science includes whatever
knowledge, skill and beauty are to be found in the material world, as well as
all the various branches of knowledge, such as military science, medical
science, music, dance, and astronomy. Prakrti (material nature) is the
primordial power, and by her own potency she has manifested this material
universe and all the variety in it. Each and every form is a by-product of this
potency and is accompanied by the knowledge or science corresponding to it.
When one acquires that knowledge, he is liberated from sins committed to Mother
Nistarini. The Vaisnavas do not seek this knowledge, but we saktas will
obtain liberation on the strength of it. Just consider how many books have been
written in pursuance of this knowledge by great men such as Plato, Aristotle,
Socrates, and the famous Hakim.

Advaita: Digambara, you have said that the Vaisnavas have no

interest in vijnana (experiential,
realized knowledge), but that is

not true. The pure knowledge
of the Vaisnavas is endowed with

vijnana:

sri bhagavan uvaca

jnanam parama-guhyam me
yad-vijnana-samanvitam

sa-rahasyam tad-angam ca grhana gaditam
maya

Srimad-Bhagavatam
(2.9.31)

Sri
Bhagavan said, “O Brahma, knowledge of Me is nondual, and yet it has four
distinct divisions: jnana, vijnana, rahasya and tad-anga.
A jiva cannot understand this by his own intelligence, but you can
understand it by My mercy.Jnana is
My svarupa, and My relationship with My potency is vijnana. The jiva
is My rahasya (secret mystery), and pradhana is My jnana-anga.”

Before
this creation, Bhagavan was pleased with Brahma’s worship, and instructed him
on the tenets of pure vaisnava-dharma.

Bhagavan
said, “O Brahma, I am explaining to you this most confidential jnana of
Myself, the vijnana with which it is endowed, its rahasya, and
all of its angas (components). Accept all of this from Me.”

Digambara,
there are two types of knowledge: suddha-jnana, pure knowledge, and visaya-jnana,
knowledge of material objects. All human beings acquire visaya-jnana through
the senses, but that knowledge is impure, so it is useless for discerning
transcendental objects. It is only useful in relation to the jiva’s conditioned
state of material existence. Knowledge that pertains to spiritual consciousness
is known as suddha-jnana. That is eternal, and it is the basis of the
Vaisnavas’ devotional service. Spiritual knowledge is the antithesis of
material knowledge, and is completely distinct from it. You say that visaya-jnana
is vijnana, but it is not vijnana in the true sense of the
term. The real reason that your Ayur-veda and other types of material
knowledge are called vijnana is that they are in contrast to pure spiritual
knowledge. True vijnana is that pure knowledge that is distinct from
material knowledge.There is no
difference between jnana, which is the knowledge of a truly abiding
substance (cid-vastu), and vijnana, which is the knowledge of how
such an object is distinct from matter. Jnana is direct perception of a
transcendental object, whereas vijnana is the establishment of pure
knowledge in contrast to material knowledge.Although these two are actually the same thing, they are known either as
jnana or as vijnana according to the methods they employ.

You
refer to material knowledge as vijnana, but the Vaisnavas say that vijnana
is the true diagnosis of material knowledge. They have examined the nature
of military science, medical science, astronomy, and chemistry, and they have
concluded that these are all material knowledge, and that the jiva has
no eternal connection with them. Therefore, these different types of material
knowledge are of no consequence in relation to the jiva’s nitya-dharmaThe Vaisnavas understand that those who are
expanding their mundane knowledge according to their material propensities are
immersed in karma-kanda. However, Vaisnavas do not condemn such people.
Indirectly, the endeavors for material improvement help the Vaisnavas’
spiritual progress to some extent. The material knowledge of those who pursue
material advancement is insignificant, and you may call it prakrtika-vijnana,
natural science.There is certainly no
objection to that. It is foolish to quarrel over names.

Digambara: Well, if there were no advancement of material
knowledge, how could you Vaisnavas conveniently satisfy your material needs and
be free to engage in bhajana? You should also make some endeavor for
material advancement.

Advaita: People work in different ways, according to their
respective inclinations, but Isvara is the supreme controller of all, and He
awards each person the appropriate result of his action.Digambara: Where does inclination
come from?

Advaita: Inclination develops from deep-rooted impressions in
the heart, acquired through previous activities. The more extensively one is
involved with matter, the more expert he will be in material knowledge and the
crafts originating from such knowledge. The articles that such people
manufacture may help the Vaisnavas to serve Krsna, but there is no need for the
Vaisnavas to labor for them separately. For example, carpenters earn their
livelihood by producing simhasanas, which grhastha Vaisnavas use
as platforms where they place the Deity. Bees are inclined to gather honey,
which devotees accept for the service of the Deity. It is not that all the jivas
of the world endeavor for spiritual advancement. They are engaged in
different types of work, impelled by their respective natures.

Human
beings have different types of tendencies, some high and some low. Those with
lower natures are engaged in varieties of work impelled by their lower
tendencies. The menial labor theyperform
assists other types of work which are prompted by higher natures. The wheel of
this universe turns by the virtue of this division of work. Everyone who is
under the jurisdiction of matter works according to his material propensity,
and thereby assists the Vaisnavas in their spiritual development. Such
materialists are not aware that their activities are helping the Vaisnavas
because they are bewildered by the potency of Sri Visnu’s maya.
Consequently, the entire world serves the Vaisnavas, but unknowingly.

Digambara: What is this visnu-maya?

Advaita: In the Candi-mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana
(81.40),

visnu-maya is described, mahamaya hareh saktir yaya
sammohitam

jagat: “The potency of Bhagavan by which the entire world
is bewildered is known as mahamaya.”

Digambara: Then who is the goddess I know as Mother Nistarini?

Advaita: She is Sri Hari’s external potency known as visnu-maya.Digambara opened his book on tantra and
said, “Look, it states in tantra-sastra that my divine mother is
consciousness personified.She
possesses full will and she is beyond the three qualities of material nature,
yet she is the support of those three qualities.Your visnu-maya is not free from the influence of the
modes of nature, so how can you equate your visnu-maya with my
mother?This type of fanaticism on the
part of the Vaisnavas really irritates me. You Vaisnavas have blind faith.”

Advaita: My brother, Digambara, please don’t be angry. You have
come to see me after such a long time, and I want to satisfy you. Is it a
slight to speak of visnu-maya? Bhagavan Visnu is the embodiment of supreme
consciousness, and He is the one supreme controller of all. Everything that
exists is His potency. Potency is not an independent object (vastu), but
rather the functional power inherent within an object (vastu-dharma). To
say that sakti (potency) is the root of everything is thoroughly opposed
to tattva, metaphysical truth. Sakti cannot exist independent of
the object from which it originates. We must first accept the existence of anobject that possesses full spiritual consciousness,
otherwise accepting sakti by itself is like dreaming of a flower in the
sky.

The
commentary on Vedanta states, sakti-saktimator
abhedah:“There is no difference between the potency and the possessor of
potency.” This means that sakti is not a separate object. The Supreme
Person who is the master of all potencies is the one truly abiding substance. Sakti
is the quality, or inherent function, that is subordinate to His will. You
have said that sakti is the embodiment of consciousness, that it
possesses will, and that it is beyond the influence of the three qualities of
material nature. This is correct, but only insofar as sakti operates
fully under the support of a pure conscious entity, and is thus considered
identical with that powerful entity. Desire and consciousness depend on the
Supreme Being. Desire cannot exist in sakti; rather, sakti acts
in accordance with the desire of the Supreme Being. You have the power to move,
and when you desire to move, that power will act. To say “the power is moving”
is merely a figure of speech; it actually means that the person who possesses
that power is moving.

Bhagavan
has only one sakti, which is manifest in different forms.When it functions in a spiritual capacity,
it is known as cit-sakti, and when it operates in a material capacity,
it is known as maya, or jada-sakti. It is stated in the Svetasvatara
Upanisad (6.8), parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate, “The Vedas say
that Bhagavan’s divine sakti is full of variety.”

The
sakti that supports the three modes of material nature –sattva, rajah,
and tamah – is known as jada-sakti, and its functions are to
create and destroy the universe. The Puranas and the Tantra refer
to it as visnu-maya, mahamaya, maya, and so on. There are
many allegorical descriptions of her activities. For example, it is said that
she is the mother of Brahma, Visnu, and Siva, and that she slew the demoniac
brothers Sumbha and Nisumbha. The living entity remains under the control of
this sakti as long as he isengrossed
in material enjoyment. When the jiva is endowed with pure knowledge, he
becomes aware of his own svarupa, and this awareness enables him to
transcend maya-sakti and attain the liberated status. He then comes
under the control of cit-sakti and obtains spiritual happiness.

Digambara: Are you not under the control of some power?

Advaita: Yes, we are jiva-sakti. We have abandoned maya-sakti
and come under the protection of cit-sakti.

Digambara: Then you are also a sakta.

Advaita: Yes, the Vaisnavas are true saktas. We are
under the control of Sri Radhika, who is the embodiment of cit-sakti. It
is only under Her shelter that we render service to Krsna, so who is more of a sakta
than the Vaisnavas? We do not see any difference between the Vaisnavas and
the real saktas. Those who are only attached to maya-sakti, without
taking shelter of cit-sakti, may be called saktas, but they are
not Vaisnavas; they are only materialists. In the Narada-pancaratra, Sri
Durga Devi explains:

tava vaksasi
radhaham rase vrndavane vane

In
the forest known as Vrndavana, I am Your internal sakti, Sri Radhika,
who adorns Your chest in the rasa dance.

From
this statement of Durga Devi, it is clear that there is only one sakti,
not two. That sakti is Radhika when She manifests as the internal
potency, and she is Durga when she is manifested as the external potency. In
the condition of freedom from contact with the material modes of nature, visnu-maya
is the cit-sakti. That same visnu-maya is the jada-sakti when
it is endowed with the modes of nature.

Digambara: You said that you are jiva-sakti. What is that?

Advaita: Bhagavan has said in the Bhagavad-gita (7.4-5):

bhumir apo ‘nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir
eva ca

ahankara itiyam me bhinna prakrtir
astadha

apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi
me param

jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate
jagat

My
inferior, or material prakrti, is comprised of the eight components:
earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intelligence, and ego. These eight
elements are under the control of jadamaya.There is however another prakrti which is superior to this
jada-prakrti and which consists of the jivas. By it this material
world is perceived or seen.

Digambara,
do you know the glory of Bhagavad-gita? This sastra is the
essence of the instructions of all the sastras, and it resolves all
conflicts between the various philosophical ideologies. It establishes that the
category of entities known as jiva-tattva is fundamentally different
from the material world and is one of Isvara’s potencies.Learned authorities refer to this tattva as
the tatastha-sakti.This sakti
is superior to the external potency and inferior to the internal potency.
Therefore, the jivas are a unique sakti of Krsna.

Digambara: Kalidasa, have you read the Bhagavad-gita?

Advaita: Yes, I read it quite some time ago.

Digambara: What is the nature of its philosophical
teachings?

Advaita: My brother, Digambara, people praise molasses only as
long as they have not tasted sugar-candy.

Digambara: My brother, this is simply blind faith on your
part.Everyone has tremendous regard
for the Devi-Bhagavata and the Devi-gita. You Vaisnavas are the
only people who cannot even bear to hear the names of these two books.

Advaita: Have you read the Devi-gita?

Digambara: No. Why should I lie? I was going to copy these two
books, but I still have not been able to do so.

Advaita: How can you say whether a book is good or bad when you
have not even read it? Is it my faith or yours that is blind?

Digambara: Brother, I have been somewhat afraid of you ever since
childhood. You were always very talkative, but now that youbecome a Vaisnava, you are even more
assertive in expressing your views. Whatever I say, you cut to pieces.

Advaita: I am certainly a worthless fool, but I can see that
there is no suddha-dharma apart from vaisnava-dharma. You were
always inimical to the Vaisnavas, and that is why you could not even recognize
the path to your own auspiciousness.

Digambara: (a little angry) Do you claim that I cannot see the
path to my own auspiciousness, when I have performed so much sadhana and
bhajana? Have I been cutting grass all this time to feed my horse?Just look at this Tantra-sangraha that
I have written! Do you think it was a joke to produce a book like this? You
arrogantly flaunt your Vaisnavism, and ridicule modern science and
civilization. What am I to do about this? Come, let us go to a civilized
assembly and see who will be judged right – you or me.

Advaita
dasa wanted to be free from Digambara’s undesirable association as soon as
possible, for he felt that this meeting was completely non-productive. “Well
brother,” he said, “what use will your material science and civilization be at
the time of death?”

Digambara: Kalidasa, you are really a strange fellow. Will
anything remain after death? As long as you are alive, you should try to
acquire fame among civilized men and enjoy the five pleasures: wine, meat,
fish, wealth, and women. At the time of death, Mother Nistarini will arrange
for you to go wherever you are meant to go. Death is certain, so why are you
subjecting yourself to so much tribulation at present? Where will you be when
the five elements of this body merge with the five great elements of material
nature?

This
world is maya, yogamaya and mahamaya. It is she who can
award you happiness now and liberation after death. Nothing exists except sakti;
you have come from sakti, and you will return to sakti in the
end. Just serve sakti and witness the power of sakti in science.
Try to increase your spiritual power through yogadiscipline. In the end, you will see that there is nothing other
than this imperceptible potency. Where did you get this far-fetched tale about
a conscious supreme God? Your belief in such a story is making you suffer now,
and I can’t fathom what destination you will attain in the next life that will
be superior to ours. What is the need for a personal God? Just serve sakti,
and when you merge into that sakti, you will remain there eternally.

Advaita: My brother, you have become infatuated with this
material sakti. If there is an all-knowing Bhagavan, then what will
happen to you after death? What is happiness? Happiness is peace of mind. I
have given up all material pleasure, and found happiness in inner peace. If
there is anything more to be achieved after death, I will attain that as well.
You are not satisfied. The more you try to enjoy, the more your thirst for
material pleasure expands. You do not even know what happiness is. You are
simply drifting in the current of sensuality and calling out, “Pleasure!
Pleasure!” but one day you will fall into an ocean of sorrow.

Digambara: Whatever will be my fate will be. But why have you
abandoned the association of cultured men?

Advaita: I have not renounced the association of cultured men;
rather, that is precisely what I have obtained. I am trying to give up the
association of degenerate men.

Digambara: How do you define degenerate association?

Advaita: Please hear without becoming angry, and I will tell
you.

Srimad-Bhagavatam
says (4.30.33):

yavat
te mayaya sprsta bhramama iha karmabhih

tavad
bhavat-prasanganam sangah syan no bhave bhave

quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa (10.292)

O
Bhagavan! We pray that as long as we are bewildered by Your illusory potency
and are wandering in material existence under the influence of our karmic
activities, we may have the association of Your premi bhaktas birth
after birth.

It
is said in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (10.294):

asadbhih saha sangas tu na kartavyah
kadacana

yasmat sarvartha-hanih syad adhah-patas
ca jayate

One
should never associate with people who are immersed in non-reality, for by
suchone is deprived of all worthwhile
objects of attainment and falls down to a degraded position.

The Katyayana-samhita states:

varam
hutavaha-jvala panjarantar-vyavasthitih

na sauri-cinta-vimukha-jana-samvasa-vaisasam

quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa (10.295)

Even
if I should die in a blazing fire or be trapped for all time in a cage, I still
do not want the company of persons averse to thinking of Krsna.

It
is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.31.33-34):

satyam saucam daya maunam buddhir hrir srir yasah ksama

samo damo bhagas ceti yat-sangad yati sanksayam

tesv asantesu mudhesu khanditatmasv asadhusu

sangam na kuryac chocyesu yosit-krida-mrgesu ca

quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa (10.297-298)

If
one associates with those who are devoid of virtue, one’s good qualities – such
as truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, restraint of speech, intelligence,
shyness, wealth, fame, forgiveness, control of the senses, control of the mind,
and fortune – completely fade away. Therefore, one should never associate with
disgraceful people who are agitated by desires for sense enjoyment, who are
foolish, who are engrossed in the bodily conception of life, and who are
playthings in the hands of women.

It
is said in the Garuda Purana (231.17):

antargato ‘pi vedanam
sarva-sastrartha-vedy api

yo na sarvesvare bhaktas tam vidyat
purusadhamam

quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa
(10.303)

One
may have studied all the Vedas and be acquainted with the meaning of all
the sastras, but if he is not a devotee of Sri Hari, he should be
understood as the lowest of men.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.1.18) states:

prayascittani
cirnani narayana-paranmukham

na nispunanti
rajendra sura-kumbham ivapagah

quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa
(10.305)

O
King, just as the water of many rivers cannot purify a wine pot, similarly, a
person who is averse to Sri Narayana cannot become purified by all the
different types of atonement, even if they are executed perfectly again and
again.

It
is said in the Skanda Purana:

hanti
nindati vai dvesti vaisnavan nabhinandati

krudhyate
yati no harsam darsane patanani sat

quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa (10.312)

The
six causes of downfall are to beat a Vaisnava, to slander him, to bear malice
against him, to fail to welcome or please him, to display anger towards him,
and to not feel pleasure upon seeing him.

Digambara,
a person can never attain auspiciousness through these types of immoral
association. What possible benefit can one gain by living in a society composed
of such men?Digambara: Well
now, what a distinguished gentleman I have come to speak with! You should
certainly stay amidst the pure Vaisnavas.I am going to my own house.

Advaita
dasa felt that his exchange with Digambara was drawing to a close, and that it
would be appropriate to conclude on apleasant
note. In a courteous mood he said, “You are my childhood friend. I know you
must return home, but I don’t want you to go just yet. You have come all this
way, so please stay for a while. Take some prasada, and then you may
go.”

Digambara: Kalidasa, you know very well that I follow a strict
diet.I only eat havisya, and I
had a meal just before coming here. However, it was a pleasure to see you. I
will come again if I find the time.I
cannot stay overnight because I have some duties to perform according to the
system given to me by my guru. Brother, I must take my leave for today.

Advaita: I shall see you off to the boat. Let us go.

Digambara: No, no. Carry on with your own business. I have some
men with me.

Digambara then went away,
singing a song about Goddess Kali, and Advaita dasa was able to chant sri-nama
in his kutira without further obstruction.